Gravel washer and separator



May 8, 1934. A. M. LOCKETT GRAVEL WASHER AND SEPARATOR Filed March 24,1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR BYQJW ATI' EY May 8, 1934. A. M. LOCKETTGRAVEL WASHER AND SEPARATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1932INVENTOR BY 2 ORNEY h \N W H W N n ii RWHH I KW llll i Q HIM ha. I m .MN J W \m Mu N v 1 000000 00 PM, I I [M 1 vm RN m R RN \m' .m MN n\\ \N il atented May 8, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE Andrew M. Lockett, NewOrleans, La., assignor to A. M. Lockett &

Company, Limited, New

Orleans, La., a corporation of Louisiana Application March 24,

4 Claims.

same time, be embodied in a machine characterized by simplicity ofconstruction, efficiency of operation, and ease of repair.

With these and such other objects in view and realized advantages, aswill be apparent from the description, my invention resides in the novelconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafterdescribed and claimed, taken in connection with the accompanying twosheets of drawings, in which similar reference characters indicate thesame parts in the several figures.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a washing apparatus constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same, looking at the forward ordelivery end thereof;

Figure 3 is a central longitudinal sectional View;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line IVIV of Figure 3;and,

Figure 5 is a central longitudinal sectional view of a certain rinsingand dewatering member of the structure, but of a modified form from thatillustrated in Figure 3.

As will be seen, by comparison, the structure of the present inventionfollows, broadly, the structure of my patented apparatus above noted.The present improved structure embodies, primarily, a horizontallydisposed biconical drum having a relatively long conical materialreceiving and rearward washing section 11 and an opposed relativelyshort material rinsing and forward delivery or rinsing section 12. Thesetwo v sections 11 and 12 are, preferably, a unitary structure and areprovided with a pair of external annular rails 13 and 14 adapted to andsupported upon corresponding pairs of supporting rollers 15 and 16,which are suitable mounted in bearings which extend upwardly fromtransverse girders 17 and 18 mounted upon longitudinally extendingopposite side frames 19 and 20.

The drum is further provided with an external annular rack 21 inintermeshing engagement with a driving pinion 22 on a power shaft 231932, Serial No. 601,011

mounted in bearings secured to the side frame 19 and provided with abelt-receiving pulley'24, or other suitable power imparting means of anydesired type;

Mounted upon transverse arches 25 and 26, which connect the side frames19 and 20 at their ends, is a perforated water supply pipe 27 sopositioned as to extend longitudinally through the drum and in axialalignment therewith.

Material under treatment, which hereinafter, for convenience, shall bereferred to as gravel, is introduced into the washing section 11 of thedrum through a feed chute 28 disposed at the rear end of the drum. Thedrum is rotated by its rack and pinion driving gear, and the gravel isfed forwardly towards the widest portion of the drum and is gentlyagitated, during itsprogress, by the action of flights 29 secured to theinner face of the section 11. During this time the gravel is subjectedto the washing action of jets of water from the pipe 27, sand, silt, andother undesirable foreign bodies being washed free from the gravel andcarried off by the stream of water which overflows the rear end of thedrum and away through a water discharge chute 30. In Figure 3 of thedrawings, the normal water level in the drum is indicated by a heavydotted line.

Secured to the inner face of the section 11 of the drum at a pointadjacent its union with the section 12 of the same are a series ofscoops or buckets 31. As the washed gravel is engaged by these buckets,it is carried upwardly by the rotation of the drum in the direction, asindicated by arrows in Figures 2 ands, and discharged from the buckets31 into a chute 32 rigidly mounted upon the centrally disposed watersupply pipe 27. This chute 32 delivers the washed gravel into a rinsingand dewatering drum 33, which is secured to the forward or delivery endof the section 12 of the main drum, is coaxial therewith, and alsocoaxial with the Water supply pipe 27. This rinsing'drum has aperforated wall and is provided, internally, preferably, with one ormore helical gravel feeding blades or vanes 34.

As the washed gravel is discharged by the chute 32 into the drum 33, itis fed forwardly, therethrough, by the action of the vanes 34 andsubjected, during this passage, to the rinsing action of jets of waterfrom the pipe 2'7. The rinse water passes through the perforations inthe wall of the drum 33, joining the water in the gravel washing drum,and the washed, rinsed and dewatered gravel is discharged from theforward end of the drum 33 to a delivery chute 35. The passage of thegravel through the drum 33 will be accelerated, if the drum is ofconical contour, as shown in Figure 3. This is the preferred form, but,if desired, the rinsing drum may be of cylindrical contour, as shown at133 in Figure 5, in which case the forward feed of gravel therethroughwill be entirely dependent upon the feeding blades or vanes 134.

From the foregoing description of the construction and mode ofoperation, it will be seen that all the objects recited in the statementof invention are fully and efiiciently carried out and with the presentimproved washer, the mixed material, consisting of gravel, clay, dirtand vegetable matter, entering by feed chute 28, during its course inthe washing or rear section 11 towards the forward or delivery section12 of the washer, is subjected to an effective tumbling action due torotation of said washer, and the large particles of said mixed materialare broken up into finer and lighter particles which are carried by thewater out of the rear end upon the discharge chute 30.

The washed material or gravel upon reaching a point near the depressedsection or maximum diameter of the imperforate drum is picked up by theinner circumferentially disposed buckets 31 and transferred by means ofthe stationary intermediate transfer chute 32 to the interior of theperforated continued rinsing and dewatering drum 33.

After the separated and elevated material within said drum 33 has beenfurther washed with clean water, said properly cleansed and rinsedmaterial is forced by the screw action of the helical conveyers or vanes34 out the forward end of said drum 33 and washer into a delivery chute35 to be deposited on any common and well known form of traveling orwheeled conveyer, not shown.

Other variations and modifications in shape, size and arrangement ofparts will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, andit is to be understood that such changes are contemplated as formingpart of this invention insofar as they fall within the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A mixed material washing and separating apparatus comprising arotatably horizontally mounted double-tapered imperforate drum forming arear washing chamber with a rearward outlet and a forward rinsingchamber having a forward outlet above the outlet of said rear washingchamber, means for rotating said imperiorate drum, means for supplyingmaterial in said washing chamber, a perforated rinsing drum secured tosaid imperforate drum and rotating within said rinsing chamber, meansfor supplying water into said rinsing drum and washing chamber, meansfor feeding washed material from the largest transverse section of saiddrum and forward end of said washing chamber into said rinsing drum, andmeans for discharging rinsed material from said rinsing drum.

2. A mixed material washing and separating machine comprising arotatably horizontally mounted double-tapered imperforate drum forming arear washing chamber with a rearward outlet and a forward rinsingchamber having a forward outlet above the outlet of said rear washingchamber, means for rotating said imperiorate drum, a feed chute at therear section of said imperforate drum, a rotary perforated rinsing drumsecured coaxially to said imperforate drum and within the forwardrinsing chamber, a coaxial perforated pipe extending through saidrinsing and double-tapered drums, and means secured within saidimperforate drum at the junction of said rear washing and forwardwashing chambers, for elevating the washed material within and at thelargest transverse section of the imperforate drum into the interior ofsaid rinsing drum.

3. A mixed material washing and separating apparatus comprising arotatably horizontally mounted imperforate double-tapered washing drumforming a rear washing chamber with a rearward outlet and a forwardrinsing chamber having a forward outlet above the outlet of said rearwashing chamber, a perforated rinsing drum secured within said rinsingchamber and coaxial therewith, means for rotating said washing drum, afixedly mounted water supply pipe extending longitudinally through saiddrums and coaxial therewith, means for supplying material to saidwashing chamber, a chute mounted upon said water supply pipe anddischarging washed material into said rinsing drum, means carried by andat the largest transverse section of said washing drum for feedingwashed material to said chute, and means carried by and within saidrinsing drum for discharging rinsed material therefrom through itsforward outlet.

4. A mixed material washing and separating apparatus comprising ahorizontally mounted double-tapered rotatable imperforate drum having arear washing chamber with a rearward outlet and a forward rinsingchamber having a forward outlet above the outlet of said rear washingchamber, means for rotating said imperforate drum, means for supplyingmaterial into. said washing chamber, a rotary perforated rinsing drummounted within said rinsing chamber and tapering towards said rearwashing chamber, means for supplying water into said rinsing drum, meansfor feeding washed material from the lowest portion of said washingchamber into said rinsing drum, and means within said rinsing drum forprogressively feeding the washed material through said rinsing drum andforward outlet.

ANDREW M. LOCKETT.

